(AUDIO) Kevin Kennedy: The Hardest Thing as a Manager is Telling a Player They are Benched

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Every Wednesday former MLB manager Kevin Kennedy joins Booger and Rich to break down the Tampa Bay Rays. Kennedy also spoke about what it’s like to talk to a player tell them they are no longer a starter.

Kennedy said the toughest thing managing a team isn’t running the game but telling a star player you’re being benched for a younger player. He said that’s what Greg Schiano is dealing with in Tampa right now with Josh Freeman. Kennedy said he was released as a player by a manager who didn’t even tell him face to face.

Kennedy said many times in that situation, a player knows it’s coming. The key he said is to tell them the truth. In Freeman’s case, you Kennedy says you can’t beat around the bush and you just have to tell him this is what’s happening and this is why it’s happening.

So how does a manager keep a team together when a change is made? Kennedy said he’s held meetings with the veterans and asked their insight on what they think on the change. The bottom line is, the manager has to make the tough decision.